Christmas in Australia is punctuated by bouts of extreme heat and humidity and cooling afternoon thunderstorms.

The heady scent of stone fruits mixes with more traditional Christmas aromas such as Ginger and Cloves. It's a stunning combination.

My Christmas Mocktails both use a product available here in Australia called Bundaberg Ginger Beer. Bundaberg is a small town in Central Coastal Queensland. The Ginger Beer brewed there is second to none, and has many mythical properties, including curing morning sickness and hangovers of mammoth proportions, and stimulating the appetite!

If you do not have access to a good brewed Ginger Beer, then you can find many easy recipes for a Simple Syrup infused with Ginger on-line. This, mixed with soda, is a fair substitute.

Christmas Mocktail No. 1

Stormy Afternoon Cooler

Tint some caster sugar orange, by mixing a drop each of yellow and red food colouring into it with a skewer. You can do this in advance and keep it in an airtight jar.

Separate an egg, and tip the white into a saucer, saving the yolk for another purpose (our doggy actually eats ours most of the time...a nice Christmas treat for him.)

Take a balloon glass, and dip it into the eggwhite, then into the tinted sugar, to rim the glass.

Mix equal parts Apricot Nectar and Ginger Beer in the glass. If using Gingered Simple Syrup, it's best to make it up to your desired strength like a cordial and use as instructed. Working carefully and slowly to maintain separation, pour a small amount of single cream on top of the drink to create a 'cream float'.

Garnish with a pineapple wedge and some crystallised ginger on a skewer. Serve with a bendable straw for sipping. The cream can be stirred through or left as a yummy finale, as desired.

Christmas Mocktail No. 2

Ginger Lime Stunner

Rim the glass with sugar as described in recipe one.

Pour Lime Juice Cordial in the base of the glass...around 2ozs or 60mls.

Top with Ginger Beer or Syrup and Soda, stir well.

Add a small scoop of Vanilla Bean icecream, and garnish with cherries, fresh on their stalk.

Hi Gorgeous Mimi,Those mocktails sound devine...I make my own ginger beer and I have to say it's pretty dam good if I do say so myself ...Not sue about the cream for me but I might use coconut cream /milk instead... I love your Eiffel Tower Proifile Icon ...wee wee !Cheers :)

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